


Saving Conner

by Arytra



Category: Power Rangers Dino Thunder
Genre: Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-19
Updated: 2015-11-19
Packaged: 2018-05-02 10:54:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5245643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arytra/pseuds/Arytra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Conner's relationship isn't going well and the team wants Tommy to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Saving Conner

**Author's Note:**

> There's a lot of discussed emotional manipulation and abuse. If that's a trigger, it's probably best not to read the story. Thanks!

He'd never thought that any of his students would be in the position they were now. Afterward, when he'd had time to think about it, he had to admit that it made the most sense that it was Conner who had been hurt in this way. He needed attention like the Earth needed the sun. While he'd come a long way, some of his supposed confidence was still just bravado. He also felt bad that he'd been the last to see it. Hayley knowing before him was normal and he didn't mind at all. But all of the others had known before him and all of them had gone to him for help.

“Doctor O?” Kira said, holding herself slightly as if she wasn't sure what to say. He hadn't been their teacher in several years and Kira had even returned to the suit for during the Operation Overdrive crisis with Adam. Now, however, she looked similar to when they had first been Rangers and it was a little unnerving. “Do you have a minute?”

He nodded and let her in. He didn't bring up the fact that he knew she'd been in Texas and that Reefside was no where near Texas. He didn't bring up the fact that she was there at ten o'clock at night or that she didn't look like she'd been eating properly. Kira was his most sensible Ranger and if she was here in this condition, she must have a good reason/ He motioned her down to the couch and they both sat there for a minute. “What's wrong, Kira?”

“Have you talked to Conner lately?” She asked. He looked surprised at that.

“No,” he said. “Not since last month.”

It wasn't abnormal for him to not talk to Conner for long periods of a time. The younger man had a lot going on and wasn't the best at remembering to catch up. Mostly because when Conner was working, Conner was off and vice versa. Tommy was still a teacher. They were better during the early summer, but otherwise, Tommy tended to just try to get his updates from the others and made certain to tell them to give his own updates to Conner. “Me neither,” she said. “He won't talk to me. I've tried, but I finally got a text back.”

Tommy took it from her and read it over. “Look, Kira. I'm fine. Just back off, okay? Conner.” Tommy blinked at that before looking back at her. “That's not like him.”

“I don't think so either,” Kira said. She sighed. “He started to date this girl...”

“Oh,” Tommy said with a slight smile. “He's probably just busy then, Kira.”

“I don't know, Doctor O,” she said. “We met her and Ethan and Trent didn't like her either.”

Tommy leaned forward. “Kira, no Ranger likes non-Ranger girlfriends or boyfriends all the way. We try to be happy for each other, but if they're not involved in the Ranger World, it usually doesn't work anyway.”

“We've all have plenty of boyfriends and girlfriends,” Kira said.

“And where are they now, Kira?” He asked. “Most of them didn't understand the bonds the four of you have with each other so they left. Or you guys broke up because it wasn't working. Going through what we went through means that it's very hard to date civilians. Even when I tried to have Hayley as a friend that didn't work because she ended up helping me with the rest of it. That's what happens, Kira.”

“So, you think it's just that?” She asked. Her voice was doubtful, but he heard the hopefulness to it. He nodded. “Alright. Thanks, Doctor O.”

She was gone in the morning after he made her breakfast. He wasn't surprised and figured that that was the end of it. Conner did tend to be more involved with his significant others as if he put all of his heart into them, but he'd be back to normal soon enough.

***

Trent was the next one there. He knew that they talked to each other and he'd already given Kira his advice, so he was a little surprised to see Trent there now. The younger man had blossomed and his self-esteem was far better than it had been in high school. He didn't wait to be invited in, a habit he'd picked up from Conner and Ethan. “Something's wrong with Conner,” he said without preamble.

“I went through this with Kira,” Tommy reminded him and Trent shook his head.

“You're right,” he said. “We don't like each other's lovers very often, but we usually just let it go and we're supportive. This one is different. He's never been this distant.”

Tommy sat down, not waiting to see if Trent did. As he guessed, Trent needed to pace. Tommy just kept his legs close to the couch to give Trent more room to move. “Trent...”

“Doctor O, have you met her?” He asked and Tommy shook his head. “I have. I'm with Kira. I don't like her.”

“What's wrong with her?” Tommy asked. He had the feeling that he was going to have to help Trent figure out what was wrong if he wanted them to calm down about this. He was still pretty sure this was normal, but he'd never seen all of them here before like this. Trent looked like he was struggling to explain before he finally did.

“She doesn't let him be him. She tries to force things on him and guilts him if he doesn't. Like one time, he wanted to go see Kira with Ethan and me and she started to cry that she was going to be alone and he didn't care about her. So he didn't. Another time, he wanted to take the kids on a trip to Six Flags and she told him that she needed his help that weekend. I just know that they didn't go. I don't think he'd told the kids yet, but I really don't know. I do know that he'd bought the tickets. I haven't been around him as much as Ethan has, but it really kind of looks bad, Doctor O.”

Tommy paused. “Even if you're right,” Tommy said. “What do you think I can do about it?”

“He believes in you,” Trent answered. “He wants your approval. I think maybe you can get through to him.”

Tommy paused and looked at Trent. “I've talked to Kira and you. I need to talk to Ethan.”

Trent looked far too relieved. “Go,” he said. Unlike with Kira, it wasn't late at night or early. Trent had came in he afternoon, not so early that he had to worry about Tommy being in school, but early enough that he could shove him out the door. Tommy had just realized that too late to stop it from happening. He wanted to be more annoyed, but it was clear that Trent was worried.

He headed out the door as Trent got back in his car. “I'll call you after I talk to Ethan,” Tommy offered and Trent shrugged.

“If you're too busy saving Conner, don't worry about it,” he said. Tommy headed out. Unlike Kira and Trent, he knew where Ethan would be. Sure enough, when he pulled up to the Cyber Cafe, Hayley was waiting for him with Ethan near her. He wondered if Trent had called, but it was equally possible that Ethan had faith in Trent to get him here.

He looked at them both and Ethan looked at him. “Trent talked to you?” He asked. Tommy was a bit amazed at he faith they had in each other. Tommy nodded. “Ok.”

“What do you think is going on?” Tommy asked him and Ethan was quiet for a minute. When he finally did speak up again, he looked his mentor straight in the eye.

“I think he needs help,” he answered. “And I think the reason you haven't met her is because she isn't certain that he won't listen to you. We might not bring it up, but we trust you. I think you're the only one who can talk sense into him. She's told him that he made promises to her that he didn't. Or that he didn't tell her things when I was listening to him tell her. You need to help him.”

Tommy nodded and glanced at Hayley. “Have you met her?”

“I hate her,” Hayley said calmly. “The other three have been trying to be calm about it, but if you don't take care of it, I won't be responsible for my actions, Tommy.”

Tommy blinked at that and then nodded. It was unusual for Hayley to feel that way toward other people. If she felt that way, it had to have been worse than Tommy had thought. He headed out the door before looking back in. “Where is he, Ethan?”

Ethan rolled his eyes, but he looked amused as he gave the address to Tommy. Tommy headed out to find his student.

***

Conner was practicing with his own students when Tommy arrived and the older man sat down to watch him work. It was amazing how far Conner had come. He headed over once the kids had taken off and sat down next to the other man. “You're good with them,” he said. Conner looked up in surprise.

“Doctor O?” He asked. “You can't be here.”

“Why not?” Tommy asked. 

“Because Rhonda doesn't think it's normal for me to be talking to my old science teacher,” he admitted. Tommy managed to keep a straight face and not react. It might not have been completely normal, but they had been Rangers. They were going to have relationships that others didn't understand. It was why more Rangers dated other Rangers. That said, he didn't want to ruin this for Conner either.

“It's acceptable,” Tommy said. “Especially now since you've graduated. And what about Kira, Ethan, and Trent? Is it appropriate for them to talk to you?”

Conner looked at the ground. “Maybe?”

Conner had never been his best student academically. He blew off the reading, didn't study, and paid more attention to other things. That said, he'd never been as dumb as everyone seemed to think either. He just faked it. So the fact that it had sounded like a real question worried Tommy instead of frustrating him. Conner seemed skittish and uncertain.

He knew that the others had pushed and that Conner had pushed back. He took another way of handling it. “I had this student. He was pretty cocky, but he eventually became confident. He convinced the rest of his friends and me that he knew what he was doing and he believed it was important to keep his friends together. I believed in him. I lost some of my friends over the years before him and because of him, I caught up with them again. But then my student decided to push all of his friends away and they came to me because that's where they always went when there was trouble and I was worried that I wouldn't know what to do. It was okay though because the student was important to me. So I came here. Knowing that my student can make his own decisions.”

“Doctor O,” Conner whispered and Tommy looked at him.

“I'm not going to yell at you or tell you you're wrong,” Tommy said. “What I will tell you is that when I lost my friends, I felt empty. And I think you feel empty. And Conner? I'm not going to give up on a friendship like this. Neither will Kira or Ethan or Trent or Hayley.”

“Even Hayley?” Conner asked softly.

“Especially Hayley,” Tommy said with a slight smile. “She was very helpful on getting me here.”

“She yelled at you?”

“More threatened to handle it if I didn't.”

Conner just smiled at that and Tommy returned it. When Conner didn't say anything, Tommy continued. “I can't tell you how to run your life, Conner,” he said. “But I can tell you that I think you're a great guy and that any woman would be lucky to have you. I can tell you that your friends will be waiting for you. I can tell you that I think that you can do better than someone who tells you what to do.”

“Doctor O...” Conner said and Tommy sighed.

“I know you, Conner,” he said. “Better than anyone other than the four at home do. You want to be loved and she pushed that. She'd playing on your fears. Conner, how many times have I come here and told you that I wasn't sure about one of your relationships?”

Conner looked at the ground and then back at him. “Never?”

“How many times have I supported you?” Tommy asked. Conner thought about it for a minute and then looked back at him.

“Every time,” he answered. He bit his lip and then looked at the ground. Tommy knew that the others were right and that he really might be the only one who could convince him. He didn't want to leave, but if Conner pushed it, he would have to keep trying later. He had to get Conner to trust him. “You really think I'm worth it?”

Tommy tried to ignore the feeling of his heart shattering as he nodded. “I do,” he said. “You are one of the most amazing people I ever met.”

“I can't just leave,” Conner said. “I can't make her mad, Doctor O.”

“Why not?” Tommy asked. Conner looked at him. “You upset me several times when we were Rangers and a few times after, but I always come back. Ethan comes back. Kira comes back. Trent comes back. Hayley comes back. And we might get annoyed, but we never hurt you.”

“You only give back what I threw at you,” Conner admitted. He looked behind him and then back at Tommy. “I'm not sure I can function without her.”

“I'll help you,” Tommy promised. “You're better than this.”

Conner looked at him again and Tommy tried to keep himself looking calm instead of going after this woman. He held out a hand to Conner. Conner looked at him. “You'll stay with me?”

“The whole time,” Tommy answered. “If you need me to take time off of school, I will.”

Conner grasped his hand and Tommy pulled his toward him. He led him away from the field, grabbing the clipboard as he did so and giving Ethan a quiet call to find someone to pick up the soccer equipment. Right now, he wanted to get Conner as far away from there as possible.

***

The others did as Tommy asked. They didn't scold Conner for getting in the mess or ask if he was going back. They didn't joke with Conner as usual unless he inititiated it and even then, the verbal sparring was died down. Hayley made certain to make whatever Conner wanted for food and Tommy called the school and told them that he'd be sick for the next couple weeks. Conner had known he needed out, but he hadn't felt important enough to do so. Tommy sat down next to Conner.

“How are you feeling?” He asked.

“Like I got run over,” Conner answered. “She keeps trying to call.”

“You can block her number,” Tommy suggested.

“She got a new one,” he said. Tommy nodded.

“We'll get you a new phone in the morning,” he said. When Conner began to protest, Tommy smiled. “It's on me.”

Conner couldn't protest that, though Tommy could see that he wanted to. He wasn't sure if it was the charity or the fact that he was still trying to get over her, but Tommy wasn't going to let this one go. Conner finally just nodded. “Ok.”

Tommy nodded and pulled Conner to him in a hug. Conner grunted when Ethan grabbed him in a hug from the other side. Kira practically sat in their laps and Trent leaned over the back of the couch. Hayley sat on the other side of Tommy and reached over to take Conner's hand. They just sat there for a minute before Tommy spoke up. “I want to meet any and all boyfriends and girlfriends from now on.”

Kira looked at him. “What happened to 'Rangers don't like civilian lovers'?” She asked. Tommy snorted.

“We are not letting this happen again,” he said, holding Conner to him. He wasn't surprised when the other man leaned in further. “From now on, I get to vet all of them.”

Hayley gave a little cough and he looked at her. Ethan rolled his eyes. “You're not a civilian, Hayley.”

“I'm also not crazy like the rest of you,” she said. “I'll vet them and let you all know if there's a problem.”

“Yes, Hayley,” they all said together, but none of them missed the wink she gave to Tommy who just smiled back. They stayed that way for a while as if they would be able to protect Conner with their feelings. It was going to be long road, but they'd eventually get there.


End file.
